Tag: Germany

I figured that South Korea would take notice of President Trump’s threat to pull U.S. troops out of Germany. However, I would not be surprised if the Moon administration would welcome removing half of U.S. troops:

U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday he will cut the number of U.S. soldiers in Germany by about half, fueling concerns in Seoul he could make similar reductions to American troops in Korea.    
   
“One of the only countries that hasn’t agreed to pay what they’re supposed to pay is Germany,” Trump said to reporters at the White House in Washington. “So I said, until they pay we’re removing our soldiers, a number of our soldiers, by about half. And then when we get down to 25,000, we’ll see where we’re going.”  
   
Trump claimed that Germany was “delinquent” in payments to NATO and has been treating the United States “very badly on trade.”    
   
He added, “And I’m not only talking about Germany, by the way; I’m talking about plenty of other countries,” without specifying further.   

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link.

Here is another claim that has come out of the allegation that USFK tried to add Japan as part of the United Nations Command (UNC); they also wanted Germany to join as well:

 Early this year, the UNC finalized a legal review to lowering the bar for which countries can serve as sending states, according to sources, which could include nations like Japan or Germany.

It was also revealed by South Korea’s Defense Ministry on Thursday that the United States tried to have Germany dispatch military officers to the UNC, but the plan fizzled out due to opposition from Seoul. 

Joong Ang Ilbo

USFK for their part has denied the allegation they tried to have Japan become part of the UNC.

This maybe South Korea’s most impressive World Cup win since 2002 even though it was ultimately meaningless since they were eliminated from the knockout stage of 16 teams:

South Korea stunned Germany 2-0 while being eliminated in the group stage at the FIFA World Cup on Wednesday, bringing the defending champions down with them.

South Korea needed to beat Germany by at least two goals and have Mexico defeat Sweden in the other Group F match Wednesday. The Taeguk Warriors took care of their own end at Kazan Arena in Kazan, some 800 kilometers east of Moscow, with Kim Young-gwon and Son Heung-min each scoring in second-half stoppage time. But Sweden made it all moot by beating Mexico 3-0 in Ekaterinburg.

South Korea, which earlier fell to Sweden and Mexico, finished third in Group F with three points, while netting three goals and conceding three. Sweden won the group with six points, beating Mexico, which also had six points, on goal difference.

Germany unceremoniously bowed of the tournament with three points, losing to South Korea in goal difference and becoming the third straight World Cup champions to miss the knockout stage in title defense.  [Yonhap]

There must be a political calculus behind this designation by the ROK government considering it has happened decades after the fact:

Germany has been belatedly classified among the participating nations in the Korean War, as South Korea has added the European country to the list of countries that provided medical assistance during the 1950-53 war, government officials said Friday.

The Ministry of National Defense has designated Germany as the sixth provider of medical support to the war-stricken South Korea 64 years ago, saying that Germans set up a hospital in Busan in May 1954 and engaged in medical assistance activities.

After the outbreak of the war on the Korean Peninsula, 21 countries contributed to the United Nations force that came to the aid of South Korea against North Korea, which was backed by China and the then Soviet Union.

Sixteen countries sent combat troops to South Korea, while four countries — Norway, Denmark, Sweden and India — sent medical units and Italy provided a hospital to the South.

In May 1953, two months before the ceasefire, Germany notified the U.N. headquarters of its intent to set up a field hospital in South Korea to support U.N. soldiers participating in the Korean War and sent a medical unit of around 80 staff the following year.

But the European country was not included among the Korean War providers of medical aid because its medical support activities began after the armistice treaty was signed on July 27, 1953.  [Yonhap]

You can read the rest at the link, but President Moon decided to pursue this designation after a trip to Germany last year where he met with former German medical team members.

It appears these activists will not be happy until there are comfort women statues in every major city in the world:

Japanese diplomats in Germany are reportedly trying to obstruct a civic group’s plan to erect a “girl statue” representing wartime sex slavery victims inside a museum in Bonn.

The diplomats recently visited Marianne Pitzen, founder and chief of the Bonn Women’s Museum, following media reports that a girl statue would be installed inside, said Yi Eun-hi, an activist who is leading the project.

Over 200,000 South Korean women were abused as sex slaves by the Japanese army before and during World War II.

At the meeting with Pitzen, the Japanese diplomats insisted that the number of the so-called comfort women is difficult to calculate and that they “volunteered” to serve for Japanese soldiers.  [Korea Times]

You can read more at the link.

Via a reader tip comes this story of how former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroder is getting hitched to Korean woman he met at conference in South Korea:

It was love at first sight that bound them together.

German news outlet Bunte broke the story earlier this month that former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroder will marry his South Korean interpreter Kim So-yeon. The report triggered a media frenzy in Seoul. Reporters captured the moments the pair dated at Changdeokgung royal palace in Seoul and dined together at Korean restaurants in the city and Kreuzberg, Berlin.

The couple held a press conference at the Press Center in Seoul, Thursday, admitted their romance and announced they will marry this year.

Schroder, 73, and Kim, 47, did not seem uncomfortable in front of the Korean press as Kim faithfully interpreted Schroder’s opening speech and answers to journalists’ questions. And Schroder didn’t shy away from tugging her close to him in front of tens of photographers. Whenever they smiled at each other, cameras flashed to capture the moment.

“We have met each other’s family members who agreed to our engagement,” Kim said. “And we will move back and forth between Hanover and Berlin, where Gerhard lives, and Seoul after marriage.”  [Korea Times]

You can read more at the link.